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Newcastle United journalist reveals major bust-ups with Steve Bruce as truth hurts

Very interesting ahead of the Manchester United game as one of the Newcastle United journalists has revealed a number of falling outs with Steve Bruce this season.

The writer breaking ranks is Craig Hope, who covers Newcastle for The Mail.

The man from The Mail appeared on Sky Sports on Sunday and said that at first everything was fine with the NUFC head coach.

Hope says he wrote a very supportive piece of Steve Bruce on the eve of the season and even went on a night out with him, Bruce picking up the bill.

Everything fine with the head coach until the actual football kicked off, this season’s mess was unveiled and he (Craig Hope) started writing about it as he saw it.

Once he started holding a mirror up to what was happening with Steve Bruce and his team, The Mail journalist has had bust-ups with the ed coach in press conferences and even when out walking the dog, Bruce ringing him for a 25 minute argument.

The latest bust-up happening on Friday following the journalist having written this week that ‘When you watch them on the pitch it is hard to tell what the identity is, what the style is, what they are all about, what Steve Bruce is trying to do…’

Steve Bruce defending his failings at Newcastle by saying after 400 games in the Premier League, it was ridiculous to suggest he doesn’t know what he is doing, Bruce failing to mention that of the managers to take charge of 300+ PL games he has the worst record, a win ratio of only 27%.

To Craig Hope’s credit he fired back at Steve Bruce saying he didn’t care what had happened in the hundreds of previous games, he was just judging Bruce on the total shambles we have seen in these two months so far at Newcastle.

“Myself and Steve (Bruce) had a little bit of disagreement on Friday during the press conference.

“When you watch them on the pitch it is hard to tell what the identity is, what the style is, what they are all about, what Steve Bruce is trying to do…

“I made this point in coverage this week and Steve Bruce took exception to that. Saying ‘Look, I have managed 400 games in the Premier League, do you not think I know what I am doing?’

“I said: ‘Listen, I’m not bothered about the previous 400 games, I am judging you entirely on the confines and isolation of what I have seen in the seven games at Newcastle.’

“And so far I’m yet to work out what he is trying to do with this team.

“On Friday he comes out with ‘listen, basically these players are not good enough, or quick enough, to play my own attractive brand of football.’

“That for me is a huge risk and it smacked of self-preservation really, it felt as though the excuses…

“I don’t think it is the impossible job for Steve Bruce, far from it. He has a good set of professionals in there, he declared himself ‘Delighted with the remarkable transfer business in the summer’, so he can’t go back and blame that.

“He has to look closer to home, get his own house in order, concentrate on motivating and organising a set of players who have proved the last two years that they are capable of staying in the Premier League.

“In the summer, I wrote a piece on the eve of the season, very supportive of Steve (Bruce).

“Went out for a few pints with him, thought he was a good bloke, he picked up the tab, thought he was a great bloke.

“My reporting of the situation has been entirely coloured by what I have seen on the football pitch.

“We (Craig Hope and Steve Bruce) have had two or three ding-dongs now.

“We had a 25 minute conversation where we had a good go at each other. I was walking the dog at the time and the dog was looking at me.

“Whatever was said in that conversation will remain private but he has got the needle with me.

“We had a falling out after the Norwich game. Paul Dummett came out afterwards and said there was a problem in the warm up.

“Steve has misinterpreted this as my criticism of his coaching and we had a bizarre heated five minutes in his press conference.

“Whereby I was saying ‘Steve, this is a player saying before a game that the team is as good as beat. How can that be when you are the man responsible for motivating and organising them?'”

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